Case Number 05045

Monsieur Ibrahim

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All Rise...

Judge Joel Pearce wishes he had a shopkeeper who could teach him about life, but the manager at Safeway only wants him to make his dang purchase and leave.

The Charge

Two different generations. Two separate religions. The unlikeliest of
friendships.

Opening Statement

Monsieur Ibrahim sits in an odd place between advancing a lot of
coming-of-age movie clichés and trying to do something completely original.
The result is a bit messy and less satisfying than it should be, but it also has
a lot going for it.

Facts of the Case

Coming of age is a difficult thing to do, and even more difficult if you have
to do it all alone. That's certainly a problem that Moses (Pierre Boulanger) is
familiar with. His mother left many years ago with his older brother, leaving
him to take care of the house and his father, who works really hard and wishes
Moses could be more like his brother.

Moses responds to this pressure in a variety of ways. He breaks his piggy
bank in order to try to hire one of the prostitutes who works across the street.
He courts a pretty girl who lives nearby. He also befriends an aging Muslim man
named Monsieur Ibrahim (Omar Sharif, Hidalgo, Lawrence of Arabia) who runs the
local grocery. As the rest of his life falls apart around him, Moses grows
closer to the old man, finding his wisdom able to guide him like nothing else in
his life has been able to do.

The Evidence

The coming of age that Moses experiences is very familiar and at times
downright heavy-handed. He exchanges his childhood savings in order to become a
man. He later exchanges his father's books in his further pursuits of happiness.
He doesn't find that contentment in the arms of the local prostitutes or in his
relationship with the girl next door, but rather from the wisdom of Monsieur
Ibrahim, who places more faith in experience than book knowledge. He is also
rejecting his father for the love and respect of another man, a man that sees
his value and genuinely loves him. Much of the early part of the film follows
Moses's rejection of his father, who has no affection for him and constantly
compares him to his much older brother. This portion of the film is well
handled, but it all feels quite mundane and a little too simplistic.

What does make Monsieur Ibrahim stand out is the nature of the
relationship between Moses and Monsieur Ibrahim. The eccentric grocery store
owner is not a normal father figure, but he's the only man that has ever shown
Moses any kind of hope and respect. Their relationship grows from normal,
everyday interaction instead of some kind of crisis, and their conversations are
always interesting and entertaining. These two performances are what hold the
film together, and they handle that job quite well. Omar Sharif is delightful to
watch as the old shopkeeper, and I found myself wishing for more figures like
him in my own past. The generosity and sacrifice that he has for the young boy
comes through in his smile and his words, and I never doubted his sincerity.
Newcomer Pierre Boulanger is also excellent, in a pretty tough role. He has many
personal and solitary scenes, but never breaks his performance for a moment.

Things get a lot weaker once Moses and Ibrahim embark on their cross-Europe
tour. A few minutes at the end of the film isn't really enough time to establish
the point of this trip, and it shifts the focus of the film in a direction that
simply doesn't make sense. More than anything, the end of the film seems rushed,
especially after quite a bit of repetition and slow scenes in the first half.
This pacing problem is one of several that hold the movie back from being what
it could have been

Whether intentional or not, Monsieur Ibrahim never manages to make a
real statement about the religious ideas that run through the film. While the
relationship between the two men works fantastically, the broader cultural
implications, if any, are never properly explained. It's easy to pick out the
lesson that Moses is supposed to learn through his travels and coming of age,
but it feels like there's supposed to be a larger lesson for the audience to
learn. I'm not sure what that lesson is, though. Perhaps we are being asked to
reject book knowledge in general in favor of the lessons we can learn from our
elders, even if they have a different set of beliefs. That seems the most
likely, although some pieces are missing and some moments of the film contradict
that idea as well. Religion, especially Judaism and Islam, are pretty sticky
notions in the current international political climate. Although this film is
more willing to dig into religious ideas than most of its Hollywood
counterparts, it still feels as though writer/director François Dupeyron is
frightened to make any strong statements.

The transfer is quite solid. The video transfer captures the cinematography
well, capturing the feel of the early '60s quite well. It isn't the sharpest
image I've seen, but it does the job. There are no visible flaws, though the
shadows lack detail at times. The audio transfer is also good, with clean
dialogue and a fun (if slightly repetitive) soundtrack. The sound stage seems
mostly trapped in the front channels, especially for a 5.1 track. A little more
depth for the music would have been nice, but certainly not necessary.

The only real extra on the disc is a commentary track with Omar Sharif. He
sets out to discuss the making of the film, but instead begins a wide-ranging
discussion on a number of topics. At times, he explains what is happening in the
film, but more often he discusses his own experiences. These recollections are
entertaining, because they demonstrate why this was such a personal project for
him, and why his role worked so well. Even though it would have been interesting
to have Pierre Boulanger do the track with him, it's a fascinating track that
fans of the film or actor will enjoy listening to. Omar Sharif is surprisingly
open about some of his own personal experiences. So, if you were ever curious
about his first sexual experience, you know where to turn.

Closing Statement

Despite a few flaws, Monsieur Ibrahim is a very pleasant coming of age
film with some serious issues brooding under the surface. Thoughtful film fans
will want to give it a viewing, and some will certainly want to add this disc to
their collections.

The Verdict

Everyone involved has been found not guilty, regardless of race and religious
affiliation.